Counterfeit Zinc Wheat Pennies?

[atom12]

I got my coin comparator setup to accept copper clad zinc pennies. For every 7,500 cents it sorts it might make 5 to 10 errors and when I double sort all those will be correctly identified. So basically it's dead accurate.

However I have these 5 wheat pennies from the 1910's and 1920's that identify as copper clad zinc 100% of the time. They're thoroughly worn and I don't see any zinc showing so I'm sure they're not clad.

Some of Lincoln's faces on these cents look a tad bit different in the nose.

Has anyone found copper zinc alloys in counterfeit cents? I'm guessing in the 1900's it might have made sense to forge cents.

 

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[mishra142]

Pre 1920's wheats typically fall to the zinc side. The copper they used back then wasn't the same quality as later dates so they typically get rejected. But no they are likely not counterfit. This is common.

 

[GlenDronach]

Pre 1920's wheats typically fall to the zinc side. The copper they used back then wasn't the same quality as later dates so they typically get rejected. But no they are likely not counterfit. This is common.

Yes. It's time consuming, but I search by hand and grab these.

 

[sagittarius98]

The copper they used back then wasn't the same quality as later dates so they typically get rejected. B

Actually, the copper amount was the same, but tin was added along with zinc, while the later cents are just copper and zinc.

 

[jrf30]

As the others say, there is a reason. However - one correction. they do not go to the "zinc" side. They go to the reject side. there is no zinc side. there is only the "Copper" side, and then the "reject" side. Anything that is not the same as the comparitor coin (copper) goes to the other side. So 1943 steel pennies would go there. Dimes that are in with the pennies would go there. Zinc goes there. Older wheats with tin go there. INdian Heads go there. And foreign coins go there. that doesn't make them all zinc. Just not the same as the copper penny.

Make more sense now?

Not counterfeits. Just not the same composition as the 1981 that you have in the accept side f the machine.

 

[CoinFetcher]

I remember reading several posts here, about keeping an eye on the output for brown cents, IE older wheats.